Italian Beef Casarecce Soup

You will not regret making this! It's easy to make, filling, easily adapted to what you have on hand, and the best part is it tastes like you're eating a bowl of lasagna. It comes together in about 30 minutes, and requires very little prep. An easy weeknight meal that's sure to impress.

Baked Ziti with Meat Sauce

Oh my goodness this is so delicious. This week was all about using up leftover ingredients. I had a big hunk of whole milk mozzarella, and a container of ricotta. I used some of the ricotta to make rolled eggplant, but had almost an entire container left. I didn't have lasagna noodles on hand, but I always have a few boxes of penne.

Ricotta Filled Eggplant

I'm on an Italian food kick this week, mainly because I bought a lot of eggplant and I have fresh basil in my garden! This recipe comes together fast and is really filling, would be the perfect dish if you do Meatless Mondays.

(sorry for the picture quality, snapped this right before sunset)

Zucchini Pasta with Roasted Eggplant and Mozzarella

I could eat this multiple times per week, it's that good! I finally bought a spiralizer after years of wanting one. I used to have a mandolin which seems to have disappeared, so I haven't been making any vegetable noodles. I got the spiralizer in the mail, and made this dish that same day for dinner. It was fantastic and very filling. Hope you enjoy!

Zucchini Pasta with Roasted Eggplant and Mozzarella
      serves 5

• 5 small Zucchini, spiralized or cut into noodles
• 1 Eggplant, peeled halfway or fully and chopped into big chunks
• 28 ounce can Crushed Tomatoes
• 2 Tbsp + 1/2 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 1/2 cup White Onion, diced
• 1/2 cup fire roasted Peppers & Onions (frozen, or just use 1 whole small onion)
• 2 tsp minced Garlic
• 8 ounces Mozzarella cheese, cubed (the vacuum packed type, not water packed)
• 2 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup fresh Basil cut into ribbons, or 2 Tbsp of the freeze dried kind
• salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. On a baking sheet add the chopped eggplant, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Toss together to coat the eggplant, and bake at 400F for 20 minutes. While the eggplant is baking make your sauce. In a large saute pan or skillet with high sides add 1/2 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and peppers and cook for about 5-7 minutes, then add the garlic and cook and additional minute. Add the crushed tomatoes and season with salt and pepper. Simmer on medium-low while the eggplant roasts. When the eggplant is finished add to the sauce, and simmer and additional 10 minutes. 

The zucchini pasta is super easy. I used the spiralizer and made the zucchini into noodles while the eggplant roasted. To cook I actually microwaved mine for 9 minutes, although it can also be boiled or sauteed. I just wanted to cut down on clean up. Once the sauce has finished simmering add in the zucchini noodles (be sure to drain the excess water), the parmesan cheese, and the basil. Stir well to combine, finally add the cubed mozzarella. It will begin to melt into the hot sauce. Give it a good stir and serve immediately. 

I really enjoyed this with extra basil on top as well as hot pepper flakes, but I couldn't add those to the whole recipe because it's too spicy for my toddler. Who absolutely loved this meal by the way! Per serving: 323 calories, 19 grams of fat, 16 grams of protein, and 16 grams of net carbs!

Lower Sodium Sausage, Potato, and Kale Soup

Another soup recipe, and what to do with those other sausage links leftover from this recipe. Hubby and I love Olive Garden for the soup, salad, and bread sticks. The only downside is the sodium. Nowadays I'm not even worried about overall calories because I always stay right around 2000-2200. I am however worried about sodium content, which has put a damper on eating out. I decided to spice up the leftover chicken apple sausage and try a lighter version of our favorite soup, Zuppa Toscana. This doesn't taste as good as the real deal because I'm using milk instead of cream, and I've omitted the bacon. Give this a try if you're also stuck on a low sodium diet like me!

Low Carb Zucchini Lasagna

  Oh my goodness. This. Was. Good.

 We love Italian food, especially the stuff heavy on the carbs. However, me being me (aka high maintenance) I am currently eating low carb/low sugar. It just seems to work best for me! Hubby wanted lasagna, so I decided to ditch the noodles and use zucchini.  Not only does skipping the noodles cut the carbs, it cuts the calories significantly. So you can have more cheese. Because really, isn't that what life is all about? More cheese? Maybe that's just my life.

Low Carb Gluten Free Pizza

  Apologies for my absence. I was hit with a cold, then worked a week, then got the flu, then was in Vegas the next week. It's been an exhausting month! I've been attempting to meal plan lately, so two big dinners twice a week and we're pretty much set. This pizza dough is one of my favorite recipes. It's easy, cheap, fast, gluten free, and tastes great. It most certainly is not low calorie or "light," but I prefer to stick to a low carbohydrate diet, even if that means going over my calories on days where I want pizza.

Shrimp and Asparagus Risotto

Pasta & Italian Meatballs

*This is a reposting of a previous recipe from 2011, I lightened it up a bit and calculated the calories*

There's absolutely no way you could see these pictures without a little drool dribbling down your chin. Or is that just me? I'll own it, because this dish is divine. I highly recommend not using Bucatini noodles, and instead using spaghetti or angel hair pasta. In fact, given the fact that I am gluten free most days I would substitute quinoa spaghetti pasta for the noodles and call it a day. I would also, sadly, pass on the white bread. Anyway the Bucatini noodles look great and I remember thinking they would absorb the sauce well, but they were chewy and disappointing. Since these pictures I have made the dish using spaghetti or angel hair pasta and we have enjoyed it more that way.

Spicy Pepperoni & Roasted Fennel Pizza

 As you know I am now living a very low carb/low sugar lifestyle! It's part of the maintenance phase of my diet. By the way, I've lost 23 lbs in the past couple of months. I'm now within the normal range for BMI as well as body fat percentage. The foodie side of me is loving the challenge of trying out old favorites in a new healthy way! These La Tortilla Factory low carbohydrate tortillas are a Godsend! Only 3 grams of net carbs and 50 calories per tortilla, they're perfect for making yourself an individual thin crust pizza.

Healthy Lasagna: So You Don't Have to Feel Guilty About Eating the Whole Pan

5 lasagna noodles. That's all. Yet it holds its shape remarkably well and tastes heavenly. The secret is in the zucchini! Go all out on the veggies and use extra lean beef and this will soon be one of your favorite dishes to make.

Eggplant Stack, by Steve Martarano

I mentioned previously that Hubs and I ate at Martarano's at the Rio in Las Vegas. For an appetizer we shared the eggplant stack, and it was amazing. The ingredients are those found in eggplant Parmesan with the addition of balsamic vinegar and an arugula salad, yum! I saw an episode of the Real Housewives of Miami on Hulu, and one of the girls hosted a luncheon where they had a cooking lesson from chef Steve Martarano. That gave me the general idea of how to assemble this dish! I also found the actual recipe (or at least I'm assuming it was) on this website, check it out for yourself for the complete measurements!

Prosciutto and Garlic Spaghetti

This was an experimental dish from about a week ago. The Mr. was at work and I still had half a box of spaghetti left from this recipe. I bought garlic from North Park Produce and it came already peeled, about 8 ounces worth! I also had a packet of prosciutto in the fridge that I didn't have a clue what to do with. This dish turned out to be so delicious, salty, cheesy, and hearty. A real comfort food.

Lobster Spaghetti

Just mmmmmmm.

This was a delicious meal. I made heated up Trader Joe's butter sage sweet potato gnocchi as a small appetizer, and this pasta was the main dish. I didn't have a recipe so I just winged it using whatever ingredients I had on hand.

To make this you really only need a few basic ingredients. I bought the lobster tails at Trader Joe's. I believe it was 12 ounces for $8.99, it might have been $7.99. Either way it wasn't over 10 bucks for a ton of washed, trimmed, and cooked lobster tails.

How To: Pizza in a Hurry, On a Budget

Two weeks ago was most definitely the worst work week of my life; every day I would come home and have a glass of wine, and put my feet in the hot tub just to relax. Cooking sounded awful, but unfortunately I have a husband to feed. Enter: biscuit dough pizza! I did not think this was possible, or that it would taste good; I quite enjoyed it, and the mister drooled over every piece. The coolest part about this dough was making it on the grill pan. I got those awesome grill marks without taking a step outside my apartment door. Sigh, I'm going to miss having grills on the roof. I fear when we make the move to live in the cheap we'll be giving up a lot of amenities. Alright, enough whining.

Campari & Basil Bruschetta

I love Campari tomatoes because they are sweet, plump, juicy, and so easy to chop up! After watching Julie & Julia for the millionth time, yes I know don't judge me, I decided I absolutely needed to have bruschetta on light rye bread. At Albertsons I buy the Wasa brand organic crackers in the light rye flavor. Three (or maybe two?) crackers a serving, with 3 grams of fiber per serving!! Amazing, they're so light and crunchy I just love 'em. For the bruschetta you only need a few simple ingredients, most of which you will already have on hand.

Adobo Fire Roasted Margherita Pizza

Premade dough can be a lifesaver on nights where you want to cook, but don't want to cook for hours and do a lot of prep work. So grab some ready made dough and let's get to it!

Fire Roasted Tomato and Watercress Bruschetta

Holy yum! This was the easiest bruschetta I've made and was hands down one of my favorites ^_^

Rocket Pasta and Spicy Sausage Meatballs

Arugula, more commonly known as rocket in other countries, has become more popular recently. Initially quite exotic and native to the Mediterranean you can see it in any grocery store found near the salads. Arugula is tasty, with a peppery flavor that adds life to salads and is wonderful in almost any pasta dish. I was inspired by Rachael Ray (as always) and a recipe I saw her make last week. Preheat your oven and lets get started!

Chicken Parmigiana

After making stuffed chicken on Sunday, Monday afternoon I still had 2 whole chicken breasts to cook. These things are massive. I mean, what the heck are they feeding chickens? The breasts are bigger than mine, haha! Anyway, I had chicken, canned tomatoes, leftover mozzarella cheese, and the makings for an amazing Italian meal.